, which now includes 37 U.S. states. Although it's currently a limited distribution plan, the expansion to California, the nation's largest state by population, is another significant step forward. The company

, according to Founders CEO Mike Stevens. The goal is to "be in every state, eventually," Stevens said. Founders' reputation precedes itself, as West Coast hopheads have been clamoring for All Day IPA, Dirty Bastard, Breakfast Stout and other signature beers. The brewery's year-round and seasonal ales in cans, bottles and kegs will be available in Northern California through nine distributors in San Francisco, Sacramento and several other counties. Five distributors will cover the entire state of Nevada. Limited release beers will be available at some craft beer retailers after the launch, according to a press release. The broadened distribution network is a byproduct of the company's

Despite All Day's lower alcohol-by-volume strength - 4.7 percent - Stevens said the brewery thinks it could become "the No. 1 selling IPA in the U.S." in the next two years. Founders has spent much of the past few years saturating East Coast and Midwestern markets before pushing west of the Mississippi River.

and New Mexico. The brewery has a dedicated new market expansion team and takes pains to ensure all orders are filled in new states before adding another distribution area. "We have for years been contemplating bringing our products westward," Stevens said. "With completion of the expansion, we're now in a position to do that." Stevens expects to add more new markets to the Founders distribution footprint in the next couple years. "We still have more white space in terms of geography and that's what we intend to start filling out through 2016 and 2017," he said.

John Serba is film critic and entertainment reporter for MLive and The Grand Rapids Press. Email him at jserba@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter or Facebook.